Expectations high for new accord on Aceh

Expectations high for new accord on Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Director general of political affairs at the
Foreign Ministry Nur Hassan Wirajuda expressed high expectation
over the success of the new accord to reduce violence signed by
representatives of the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) late Friday.

"Over the past week ... the new arrangement has proven -- at
least until today and hopefully until the 20th when they meet --
that it has been able to reduce the violence," Hassan said as
quoted by Reuters upon leaving Geneva.

"The next step is an all-inclusive political dialog in Aceh
itself, in which GAM would be a participant," he added.

Hassan, who led Jakarta's delegation in the meting, also said
he expected the deal to be reviewed every three to six months,
with the venues for such reviews shifting to the province.

Representatives of the Indonesian government and GAM rebels
have agreed to a new accord to reduce violence, a joint statement
released late Friday said.

The statement, issued at the end of two days of talks, said a
"new security arrangement" had replaced the one-month moratorium
that ended on Thursday.

The statement said the new security arrangement would continue
indefinitely with periodic reviews.

Hassan said both sides had agreed to hold a "commanders'
meeting" in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh on the 20th of this month
to discuss and proceed with the new security arrangement.

There was no immediate comment from the GAM delegation, led by
Tengku Ilyas Mohamad Abe and Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, or from the GAM
leadership based in Stockholm, Sweden.

But the statement said that despite the "continuing and
regrettable violence" during the one-month moratorium agreed in
January, both sides noted that the number of violent incidents in
Aceh had dropped to just 58 from 259 the previous month.

Both sides had been "greatly encouraged" by the first ever
meeting of field commanders in Banda Aceh on Feb. 9 and 10, which
had resulted in the setting up a "hotline" -- through satellite
phones -- to prevent violence.

"The 'hotline' has been used frequently," the statement added.

The face-to-face meetings between commanders are being
expanded to all 13 districts and will include both Indonesian
police and military as well as the rebels' operations commanders,
it said.

Back in Aceh, violence continued to rage in the province
despite the "new security arrangement".

In East Aceh, Sgt. Maj. Paijo, a member of the Manyak Payed
military subdistrict command was killed after a group of 10
alleged rebels stabbed him to death around 3:30 p.m. on Friday in
Seunubok Dalam village, Cinta Meunasah special operation
spokesman Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar told The Jakarta Post by phone
from Banda Aceh.

Early on Saturday at around 12:30 a.m., an explosion took
place at the BCA bank's Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) on Jl.
Tengku Panglima Polim in Banda Aceh, but no casualties were
reported.

Separately, four ambushes took place in North Aceh on Friday.
The last was an attack by GAM rebels on a security post in the
Bukit Indah Mobil Oil complex at around 10:45 p.m., Kusbini
added.

Other attacks by GAM rebels on Friday included one on the
Syamtalira Bayu police station, a passing vehicle in Muara Dua
district in North Aceh and on a regency hall in the Bireun area,
the officer said.

The Cinta Meunasah special operation, meant to restore law and
order to the province, will expire on Sunday and will be followed
up by its second phase which will involve some 2,000 combined
military and police personnel. (edt)